Literary Arts Opens New Headquarters

Literary Arts officially has a new address. After three years and a $22.5 million fundraising campaign (the campaign’s not quite done), the nonprofit has moved into its new home at 716 SE Grand St., which officially opened to the public Saturday, Dec. 7.

During its soft opening Dec. 6, small clusters of passersby and those in the know walked into the new space, rare sun pouring through the storefront’s west-facing windows. Literary Arts staff chatted with customers who perused books, picking up free black totes by the door. The space’s new first-and-second-floor bookstore was up and running, though sections were still marked by Sharpie on tape. Half the shelves were on rollers, but those will remain, as they’re meant to swing out of the way to transform the ground floor into a 75-seat auditorium, if needed.

Purchased by Literary Arts in 2021, the three-story (plus basement), 14,000-square-foot space includes a bookstore, a cafe (coming in January), and classrooms. Additionally, it serves as the nonprofit’s office space. “It’s a bit of an Escher painting,” says Literary Arts executive director Andrew Proctor.

Literary Arts partnered with Bora Architects in redesigning the 1904 building (which has been seismically updated), giving the space soft lighting, rich blue walls, and plenty of reading nooks. Original touches from the building’s long history remain, including the vestibule with tile that reads “Fuller Paint Co.,” and the “East Side Branch” sign that still hangs on the first floor wall. The classrooms are like larger nooks, subtle and soundproof, set around large tables. New glass doors have yet to arrive. “They’re on a boat somewhere,” Proctor says.

Funds for the building and its transformation have come from the nonprofit’s campaign to raise $22.5 million—$16.5 million for the new headquarters, $4 million for a sustainability fund, and $2 million for the Ursula K. Le Guin Writers Residency program that will one day take place in the late writer’s historic home. The campaign is no doubt ambitious, but Proctor has emphasized the effort as once in a generation to create long-term sustainability. “This would forever transform the organization and change its trajectory for the positive,” he says.

As part of the campaign, Literary Arts has used half the funds toward working with BIPOC organizations to transform the new space, including the BIPOC-owned unarmed security company Succor Global, which is positioned by the front doors.

Literary Arts began as Arts & Lectures in 1984, eventually merging with the Oregon Institute for Literary Arts in 1993 and changing its name to Literary Arts. Throughout the decades, the nonprofit developed the Writers in the Schools program, the annual Portland Book Festival and a radio show and podcast, The Archive Project.

Those eager to see Literary Arts’ new building can check out the bookstore, which is currently open 10 am–9 pm daily. The cafe will have its own earlier hours when it arrives in the new year.

GO: Literary Arts Bookstore, 716 SE Grand Ave., 503-227-2583, literary-arts.org. 10 am–9 pm daily.